A 46-year-old Zeeland man will be sentenced May 9 after a jury found him guilty this week on 16 of 23 counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

The jury needed about two hours to convict James Paul Zacharko II.

Charges stemmed from a 2012 complaint that he had a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl.

According to a police report, Zacharko and the girl’s mother were in a relationship that had lasted about five years. Zacharko then began to communicate by cell phone with the girl, which later led to the sexual relationship.

St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough prosecuted the case, but called the guilty verdict a team effort.

“There was no way we would have gotten a conviction without the hard work of Erin (Harrington),” McDonough said of his assistant prosecutor. “She worked hard on the preliminary examination and on all the motions.”